


Dark and Cold

by Freelance_Magic



Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Light Angst, Moominpappa loves his wife and family so much, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:08:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27443191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freelance_Magic/pseuds/Freelance_Magic
Summary: Something isn't quite right in Moominhouse
Relationships: Muminmamman | Moominmamma/Muminpappan | Moominpappa
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Dark and Cold

_ It’s dark in Moominhouse. Much too dark. Moominpappa isn’t sure why it’s so dark, or what he is doing in his study so late. He looks out a window, nothing but inky black greets him. No stars, no moon, no fireflies.  _

_ Nothing.  _

_ “Curious. Is there a storm brewing?” Moominpappa asks no one in particular. _

_ The house is eerily silent. It must be late if it’s so quiet. _

_ “I should be off to bed then…” Moominpappa hums nervously as he reaches for an already lit oil lamp that Moominpappa swears wasn’t there just a moment prior. _

_ Moominpappa leaves his study and makes his way down the hall to his and Moominmamma’s room. Moominpappa opens the door and Moominmamma isn’t anywhere to be seen. _

_ “She’s not here?” Moominpappa questions. “Where is she then?” _

_ Moominpappa thinks about where his dear wife could be for a moment. _

_ “Perhaps she’s reading Moomintroll a bedtime story?” Moominpappa suggests to himself. _

_ That theory makes sense to Moominpappa at the moment, despite a little voice in the back of his mind telling him that Moomintroll is a little too old for bedtime stories nowadays.  _

_ Or that Moominmamma and he have always read Moomintroll his bedtime stories together. _

_ Moominpappa trots up the stairs to Moomintrolls room. The climb...feels longer than usual for some bizarre reason.  _

_ “I must really be out of shape!” Moominpappa huffs once he finally makes it up the stairs. _

_ Once Moominpappa catches his breath he reaches out and opens up the door to Moomintroll’s room. _

_ Or what Moominpappa thought was Moomintroll’s room. _

_ Instead of the heartwarming scene of his wife and son, it’s the cold, drab palace where the children slept back in the orphanage. _

_ “No. No. No,” Moominpappa repeats and he shuts the door and shakes his head. “I-I-I must be seeing things!” _

_ Moominpappa reopens the door and the scene is now Moomintroll’s room. _

_ Which is empty. _

_ Moominpappa closes the door and descends down the stairs, which takes less time than usual. Moominpappa's worry grows as he walks towards the set of stairs that lead to the first floor of the house.  _

_ “I-I’m sure they’re fine!” Moominpappa tries to convince himself. “I’m getting worked up over nothing...I hope…” _

_ Moominpappa steps down the stairs to the first floor, which seems to be set up for winter with dust covers on all of the furniture and everything being neatly put away. _

_ “O-Oh? Is it winter already? W-Well if that’s the case then Moominmamma and Moomintroll should be in their beds! Moominmamma! Moomintroll!” Moominpappa calls into the dark house. “Where are you two?!” _

_ Moominpappa begins to hyperventilate as he races out of the living room and into the kitchen, which is also painfully empty. Tears begin to well up in Moominpappa’s eyes as his mind races for an explanation, or perhaps more places to look. _

_ Perhaps...Moominmamma and Moomintroll are taking stock of food in the cellar? Moominpappa looks down and sees that he’s standing on the indoor cellar door. Yes, that makes sense! Moominpappa steps off the cellar door and opens it up- there’s nothing there. _

_ The door leads to nowhere, there is just dirt. _

_ Moominpappa closes the cellar door and opens it again, no effect, it’s still just dirt. _

_ “I-I must have imagined that we have a cellar!” Moominpappa deduces. “W-Where else haven’t I searched?” _

_ Moominpappa thinks quickly, for a horrible feeling has crept into his heart. _

_ One that is awfully familiar. _

_ “THE GUEST ROOM!” Moominpappa exclaims. “I haven’t searched the guest room!”  _

_ Moominpappa spirits back up the stairs, which seem to stretch into a mountain as Moominpappa races up them. But eventually Moominpappa makes it to the top and reaches the guest room door. Moominpappa tries the knob, but it’s locked. _

_ “Little My, open up this door right-” Moominpappa begins as he knocks on the door, but stops quickly as he realizes he forgot about Little My this entire time. _

_...And as he thinks about it, he can’t seem to remember her face. _

_ Or her voice. _

_ Why, it’s almost as if he dreamt her up! _

_...But...Little My was practically like family! He couldn't have dreamt her up! _

_ Right? _

_ Moominpappa begins to shake his head in denial as he drops his oil lamp to the ground, causing it to shatter. Moominpappa slams both of his fists as hard as he can against the door. _

_ “OPEN THE DOOR!” Moominpappa begs as his voice cracks painfully. “PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU!”  _

_ Moominpappa steps back and rams his shoulder into the door, and he does it again, and again, and again. _

_ On the fifth try Moominpappa breaks down the door and falls into what should have been the guest room. But instead of the guest room, it’s outside.  _

_ It’s indeed winter, the ground is covered in a thick layer of snow and a horrible blizzard is making it incredibly difficult to see very far. _

_ “MOOMINTROLL! MOOMINMAMMA! ANYBODY!” Moominpappa screams into the night. “PLEASE...don’t leave me alone.” _

_ Moominpappa collapses to his knees. _

_ “I-I don’t want to be alone again…” Moominpappa cries weakly. “Not again… they have to be real. If not...I don’t know what I’ll do...” _

_ Hot tears run down Moominpappa’s face. Was his family just a dream? Is he really all alone in this world? A cracking sound from below catches Moominpappa’s attention, he looks down and the ground is cracking like ice. _

_ Moominpappa looks behind himself, seeing if he can run back to Moominhouse, but the house isn’t there. The ground cracks more and more. Eventually the ground cracks completely and Moominpappa falls. _

_ Moominpappa looks down and sees that he’s heading quickly towards an inky black sea. _

**_“GAH!”_ ** Moominpappa exclaims as he sits up in his bed.

“Oh my! Are you alright, dear?” Moominmamma asks as she rests a paw on her husband’s shoulder.

Tears spill out of Moominpappa’s eyes as he stares at his beloved wife, who looks like a goddess in the morning light in Moominpappa’s eyes. Moominpappa wraps his arms around his wife and holds her close as he begins to laugh and cry in relief that it was all just a horrible dream. 

“Oh- oh thank goodness! I-It was all just a dream!” Moominpappa cries happily. “Just a horrible nightmare, that’s all!”

“Ah, that explains all the whimpering and tossing and turning you were doing in your sleep,” Moominmamma hums. “It must have been dreadful.”

“Oh it was, Mama,” Moominpappa nods as he cuddles his face into Moominmamma’s shoulder. “It was terrible.”

“I’ll say. You're shaking!” Moominmamma points out as she rubs shooting circles into Moominpappa’s back.

It takes a few moments, but eventually Moominpappa calms down enough where he isn’t shaking anymore.

“Do you wish to talk about your dream, dear?” Moominmamma asks. “You don’t have to if it’s too much.”

“...It was dark,” Moominpappa recounts. “I couldn’t find you or Moomintroll or Little My. At one point I nearly thought I made all of you up. Then the ground came out from under me and I fell into a dark ocean. It sounds silly, talking about it now but…but-” Moominpappa begins to choke up.

“Shhh...It’s alright, dear,” Moominmamma shushes. “I’m here.”

Moominmamma and Moominpappa don’t speak for a while longer, they just sit like this for a while, holding each other in their arms.

“...Thank you, Moominmamma,” Moominpappa thanks.

“It’s really no problem, dear,” Moominmamma brushes off. “I really hate to see any of my family members cry. So I don’t mind-”

“No. It’s not just that,” Moominpappa says as he shifts so he and Moominmamma are looking into each other’s eyes. “I mean...thank you so much for being in my life. For giving me a wonderful son. For…”

Moominpappa picks up Moominmamma’s paw and links their fingers together. 

“F-For being my family.”

Moominmamma’s eyes become glassy as she rests a paw over her heart. She’s quite touched to say the least.

“Oh, Moominpappa,” Moominmamma sighs as she wipes her eyes. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, my dear.”

Moominmamma smiles brightly at her husband.

“You know...Moomintroll and his friends are going to have a picnic today...would you like us to join them?” Moominmamma asks. “I know you have your memoirs that need your attention-”

“That sounds lovely,” Moominpappa nods.

Moominmamma smiles.

“Well, we will need to get out of bed. Won't we,” Moominmamma points out.

Moominpappa chuckles to himself as he rubs the back of his head.

“You have a point!” Moominpappa chuckles.

Moominmamma stands up and strolls over to where Moominpappa’s top hat is. She picks up the top hat and tosses it up in the air. The hat does several flips in the air before landing perfectly on Moominpappa’s head.

“I’ll see you downstairs then,” Moominmamma giggles as she leaves the bedroom.

“Ah...I love that woman…” Moominpappa sighs dreamily as he gets up out of bed, ready to spend the day with his wonderful, and very real family.

**Author's Note:**

> YOOOOO! This is like...the only m/f fic I have ever written so far. Lol. I hope it was good and y’all enjoyed! I was orginally gonna post this for Halloween but...I was busy. So here it is now!


End file.
